Chronic
by Turtle.Prince
Summary: 15... 15 isn't THAT young, right? -RL.


**A/N: **My first RL fic?

...

Always. He always cries. No matter what time of day, week, month, year, and occasion – he always, _always_ cries.

"_Reborn, you big meanie!" _

With that stupid face of his – dirty with tears and dirt – as he tries to (out of his many other countless, fortunately or _un_fortunately, failed attempts) to "kill" you. I don't understand why he continues these futile attempts; he'll fail either way. "Stupid cow, you're wasting my time," it's almost… how do you say, "Boring." His little tricks are getting old; it's never anything new. You highly doubt he grasped the meaning of "being ninja."

"_Boring?! How dare you call me, the Great Lambo-san of the Bovino family __**"boring."**_

"I dislike crybabies," you smirk and give him a look that made you appear far more superior to him, because you were; it's not your fault you're this way.

_"Cr-Crybaby!? Lambo-san is not a crybaby!"_

You really hate this; you really hate his child form. You don't like it. Not at all - not one bit. It's so noisy - so _very_ noisy. And annoying. That was why you disliked babies. You wish he was mute. Really; it would be for the best. If you could just put your hand around that small... so _very_ small _breakable_ neck of his. Just for a few seconds - you _know_ you'll achieve paradise.

But you've become accustomed to this. To this... _thing_ and his rather annoying personality. After all, he _is_ just a child.

_"You'll see, Reborn! Lambo-san... Lambo-san is not a crybaby!"_

"Oh, and how is that? So far, I am not impressed," you're not hurting him. No, you're not doing _anything_. For him, it might be your form of cruelty to him, but to you, it's just _teasing_. Nothing more, nothing less. No harm in teasing, right? You cross your arms, deciding that he won't be doing anything interesting soon. Feeling disappointed, you frown suddenly, and walking by him, kicks him - not too hard - to the head and heads to the bathroom. "Stupid cow. All talk and no action, hm."

_"Waaa! How dare you step on Lambo-san's head! How dare you! Tsunnnnaaaaaaa!"_

Great. You wasted _3_ minutes. And nothing happened.

That was probably the longest you've stood him.

...

"Would you like more coffee, Reborn?"

"Yes, Mama."

It was a habit you can't change; you haven't changed much. Just appearance wise, but you don't think it's much. You've always been like this. This body was yours - so you never really changed. It just came back to you. "Ah, now, where is that Lambo? His food will get cold if he doesn't come down!"

"That Lambo... Usually he'll be right out when there's food. What do you think, Reborn?"

"Hn," as always, you occupy yourself to your newspaper; nothing interesting, but you feel for the Kawazawa family who recently lost a relative. "Let him be. If he doesn't want to eat, he can starve."

"Well, I'll save him a plate for when he gets up!" Mama haven't changed much either. She was still the same caring motherly figure to everyone; you like it that way. Always thinking of the well beings of others, especially for those who don't deserve it. Your eyes move to Bianchi who sits next to you, reading her book as she eats. Bianchi was still the same; still can't cook and single. She's cut her hair though. A decent length, you think, of somewhat neck length. You think it suits her, but never complimented it.

"Mama, I-pin is done!" Your gaze avert to I-pin who was smiling widely as she lifted her plate towards Mama who took it with pure joy. Without saying much, you believe there was some secret exchange between them. Dressed in her school uniform which consisted of a white collared shirt underneath a blue jacket and a matching red striped plaid blue skirt, she adjusted the thin ribbon around your collar before picking up her school bag; she had extra lessons. Another secret exchange was passed between the three women at the tables and you swore they all looked towards you. (Really, you don't understand women.) You continue reading and occasionally sip on your coffee while turning the page as to not let them notice you noticing."I-pin is off to school now!"

Bianchi's chair moved back and she gulps down her coffee before stating, "I'll drive ya, kiddo."

"Ah, xiexie, Bianchi-neechan!"

At this moment, as if suddenly struck with something brilliant, Mama clasped her hands. "Mama needs to buy groceries! Tsuna and the rest said they'll be coming tonight!"

"Will we need to make preparations to pick them up, Reborn?"

You gave Bianchi a mere glance. "Yes, I suppose so."

"Reborn, will you do Mama a favor and wake Lambo up soon so he can eat? It's not very healthy to sleep all day," definitely, you did _not_ understand women.

"...Yes, Mama."

And forever it will be a mystery to you as to why one of them did not simply go up there to wake Lambo up themselves before they left to go.

...

Over the years, you've noticed a pattern.

This, of course, wasn't the first time you were ever asked by Mama to wake the cow up. You've remembered other times - unfortunately more frequent, not very fun times. It started as small, mere favors to keep Mama happy. You remember those countless loud mornings you had to go through by waking Lambo up so he could go to school while Mama made food for everyone. And you remember, always, watching that harmless _uncute_ face sleeping. It was pretty disgusting... in a way; drooling and sleeping in the _worst_ position you have ever seen with the blanket nowhere around him, he fails to dream about killing you while freezing. (You seriously believe he suffer from ADD.) But those times, the time when he's sleeping and quiet, you truly don't mind. It was the time when he woke up - _those_ times that you wished you could just...

It would start with you poking him lightly until he rolls from the touch and snorts himself off the bed in his sleep filled state. At first, you just let him fall and let him wake up on his own when he hits his head. It wasn't until you realize he was a child that you made a mistake. As a child, a first instant to pain is to cry. Somehow, crying solves everything. And Lambo - Lambo was a _great_ crier.

_"Reborn, you big meanie! How dare you disturb Lambo-san of his sleep!" _and then comes the sobbing and Mama would run up the stairs and ask what happened. _"Reborn, that big meanie threw Lambo-san off the bed. Lambo-san has a big boo-boo now! Kiss it, Mamaa!"_

It wasn't until Lambo was older that he had stopped going to Mama for _every_ little thing; instead, he went to I-pin.

Like that time when you yelled at him. You didn't mean it; you were in a bad mood. And okay, maybe you were a little _too_ harsh, but... like you said, you were in a bad mood that day.

You finally think it was when Lambo turned 13 that it became your _duty_ to do it without Mama asking (you just knew _when_ she would); that was also the same time you finally got accustomed to your body. ...And that was also the same time, you think, when Lambo began to be more sensitive to things. He started locking the doors more; he knew when you would come up. You were fine with it, of course, because you didn't have to see his face. You would never speak, of course, and he would never answer.

You only remember once when he had actually answer to you again. You weren't exactly feeling too well that day either - rather on the irritated side - and grudgingly approaching up the steps you almost find it annoying that the world was against you that day when you almost lost your step. "Oi, damn cow, get your lazy ass out of bed!" you knew it wasn't exactly nice, but no one was home, no harm. You didn't particularly care about the door that day either, almost tempted to knock it down. "Oi, stupid cow-" and before you could finish, out appeared those nervous green eyes underneath unkept bangs. A silent "...I'm up," was said and almost hesitantly, you turned and left.

Oddly, you weren't in the mood to yell at him; on the contrary, you had felt better afterwards.

Then on, the days turned back to normal. He continued to lock the door, you continued to have to go up and wake him, occasionally yelling at him until he'll look like he's crying, and in return, he runs to I-pin for comfort. But of everyone, you find that Lambo has changed the most. He was no longer that loud, obnoxious kid. As he grew older, you realized that he became more quiet. He was still a crybaby, and _that,_ you find, will never change however.

...

You didn't want to do it, really, you didn't. It was a pain and you didn't exactly want to climb up those many steps _just_ to tell the damn lazy cow to wake up. You actually _remember_ just _how_ many steps there were. "He could wake up his own damn self if he wanted to," you reason as you close your newspaper and fold it neatly. So while walking up the stairs, you muse with the thought of your student(s) coming to visit. You haven't seen them in a while; you wonder how they are doing.

"Oi, cow-" absent-mindedly, you turn the knob even though you kinda expect it to be locked. _'It's not.' _Maybe a burglar broke in and kidnapped the damn cow. You chuckle lightly at the thought. How amusing you could be... Silently, you welcome yourself in, wondering if you should lock the door or not; if there was a burglar, he could escape. But then again, _no one_ escapes you. "Cow." You see a small lump on the bed and mentally rolled your eyes. You wonder why you were so worked up over this kid. _'But then again...' _that lump could be the burglar. Cautiously, you walk over to the bed and leaning over, you gently nudged the shoulder.

"..eborn... Reborn..."

You don't know whether to laugh or kick him. You guess habits never change; you actually wonder what he was thinking of at the moment. Maybe he was thinking of another (failed) way of killing you. You suddenly frowned. You wonder why you didn't like that thought. "Oi, cow," you nudge his shoulders again.

"Mmm... Reborn..." You hear a hitch in his breathing and couldn't help but raise a brow in question. Just what the hell was the cow dreaming about. From the looks of it, it... involved you?

"Oh?" You placed your knee on the bed for support, bringing your hand over his body where he was probably turning and you lean forward, trying to see his face. Due to your weight on the bed, the imbalance caused the small body to roll slightly to your side. And lo and behold, out appears his face. And you discover that not only was his face an uncommonly red, but his cow patterned pajama top had pooled to his chest, exposing his stomach to you. Not only that, but... "Hm, so it seems you were fantasizing about me." You don't know if this is funny or not.

But you were very sure, yes, that _was_ a boner that you were seeing.

.

"Re...born..." You lean against the bedpost, your eyes forever glued to that exposed stomach as you sat, your arms tightly crossed in front of your chest. You'll wait till he wakes up. It's not fun if he's asleep. _'Heh...'_ it suddenly dawned to you that _that_ may be why he got the habit of locking his door. "Reborn-Mm..." Maybe you should leave the room; adverting your eyes away, you kind of feel bad for the kid. _'But...'_ he's not a kid anymore.

Not really.

15... wasn't... that young, right?

_"And how old are __**you**__, Reborn? 50,000?!" _You quickly push the thought of your student's screaming away. Even _if_ it was just an imaginary thought, you didn't like it. It was too realistically annoying.

"Reborn... Re...REBORN!?" You watch as he clasp his hands around his mouth, wiggling as far away towards the wall from you as he can. His frantic eyes began searching for whatever it was he was searching, looking from you, to his room, to the bed, the sheets, his clothes. And he jumps about, probably noticing _something_, as he quickly covered himself. You smirk, did he think you could've possibly raped him? Your eyes flicker to the way his shirt wasn't buttoned all the way up at the top, exposing his neck area; you wonder if he was playing with himself while thinking of you. And you can't help but chuckle at the thought. And you try your hardest to think of what his face could've possibly looked like. "Wh-What are you doing in here? I...I thought I locked the doors. And where's Mama!?"

"...Mama went to the store," You find it funny how you weren't at all annoyed or have an urge to want to hit him. Well... maybe a bit of the latter part... you kind of do. Not _too _violently, of course.

"T...Y-You... you can leave now," how cute, he was blushing. "I'm already awake..."

"I don't particularly feel like leaving,"

You see the surprise in his eyes and a hint of embarrassment as he look away. "Urm..."

You sigh and gets up, your arms still crossed as you make your way to the door. "Go wash your face. I saw you drooling."

"E...EH!?"

...

Although still looking like he was embarrassed, the cow still went down to eat. You guess sitting there (waiting) paid off. "E...Erm, when... will Mama be back?" He was playing with his food, not eating, but _staring_ at it. Like he was talking to it and not you. You felt hurt; you were being ignored, but you don't linger on it. It didn't bother you that much.

"I don't know,"

"Oh..." this silence was okay, you like to think as you sip on your coffee. "Hm."

"E..Eh... Is... Is something wrong?"

"My coffee's all gone," you sigh. "Go make me more." You raise the cup high so he could see it from behind your newspaper. You wonder what kind of twisted expression he was making. It was probably something along the lines of anger and surprise. You expect a small argument, but all you hear is his chair creating an annoying noise as it slid against the wooden tiles. And he takes your cup as he goes over to the coffee maker. "You're obedient today." Strangely enough.

"Y..You're talking to me more, so..."

"Hm," you glance at him from where you sat, at his slightly shaking body at the counter. You want to say _'Don't get used to it,' _but you're mildly distracted by his butt. You realize he didn't change out of his pajamas, his hair is still messy, and you wonder when it was that he last showered.

"U...Um, last night. I...I went in after you left," his voice is quiet; it's so different than when he was a kid.

"I see," so you said it out loud, who knew. You go back to your newspaper, but once in a while, your eyes glance over to catch a glimpse of his butt. It was... intriguing. You wonder why you've never noticed it before. You lean back on your chair a little, and smirking to yourself, you stretched out your hand, and gave his butt a small squeeze.

"E...EH!? RE-REBORN!?"

"So loud," you sigh, going back to your newspaper.

"Y-You grabbed my butt!"

You sigh again. "Are you done with my coffee?"

"...You grabbed _MY BUTT_, REBORN!"

You wonder why it wasn't quiet again. You're starting to miss it… "I think I know that,"

...

It's been strangely quiet since your little incident. Who knew he was so sensitive. _'Well, he _did_ fantasize about you while sleeping and then waking up to see you there. Not only that, but you started talking to him, rather than yelling at him. And then you assaulted his butt. He has all the reasons to not talk to you,' _you roll your eyes, quiet annoyed by your thoughts. You nudge his leg from under the table and you sense his body jerk from the contact. "Finish your food."

"I-I'm-I'm already done..." you almost snort when he discreetly tries to scoot his chair away from you, picking it up so that it made no sounds.

"Don't you have anything better to do than sit here?"

"I could say the same for you..."

You fold your newspaper and you stare at him, your head tilted back slightly. "I _am_ going somewhere." You look to your watch and you move back to stand, preparing your way to your room.

"W-Wait! Reborn!" Ignore it, you tell yourself.

...

"Bianc-" You momentarily stop and suddenly feel frustrated as you look at yourself in the bathroom mirror. You had forgot - Bianchi and Mama went out and aren't back yet. You stare at the tie in your hands. For a professional hitman who was skilled in everything, you could never get your tie right. "Dammit..."

"U...Urm," You glance to the doorway and sees him standing there, his face redder than this morning as he tries to hide behind the doorway. His hand was trembling. Did you make him that nervous? _'What a scardy cat. ...Some things never change,'_ You frown; you weren't in the mood to play games with him right now.

"What do you want? Shoo, shoo, go away," You make a motion with your hand, waving him off like an animal.

"I...I can do it. Yo-Your tie," He doesn't sound too confidant and you don't want to believe him, but you stand still as he approach you. And with shaky fingers, he ties and straightens your tie for you; his fingers hesitating when they come anywhere close to your face. You wonder if this was some phase he was going through, but you think back to your student and you completely leave the thought alone.Tsuna has always been awkward, so the situation doesn't apply. You start to think of any other possible reasons. _'He _is_ at that age...' _You want to laugh. Seriously, teenagers and their hormones... "Re-Reborn? Did you hear me...?"

"Hm?"

"U...Urm... where... where exactly are you... going...?"

"Out," You answer, simply.

"Ohhh~! Mama's homee!" The sudden announcement made Lambo jump and attach himself to you. You want to make some sort of comment that he's being too paranoid and was messing up your shirt, but you smell raspberry from his hair and you start to mentally curse whoever invented perfumated/fruity shampoo. "Laamboo~ Reboorrn~"

"O-Oh, Mama's call-calling," Lambo began moving away, but you felt your body moving along as he did. "Reborn! Stop pulling..."

"I'm not pulling you," You look down to your shirt and sigh. "Your hair's caught in one of my buttons."

"L-Liar!" He was blushing. You roll your eyes; why the hell would you lie? It's not like you have some sort of sick fetish involving hair...

"Yoohoo, Laammboo?"

"Ma-Mama's coming up the stairs! We can't look like this!"

"Stop fidgeting, stupid cow," You growl as your fingers tried to pull his hair out of your button. You figure, this could've been worse... No, not really. (_'Well... if we were naked.'_) You hear footsteps along the stairs and you clasp your hand around his mouth as your other arm encircle around his waist, pulling him backwards into the room with you. You lock the door immediately seconds before Mama turned her head in your direction. "Be quiet." His face was slammed against the door and he was whimpering against your hand. You let go of him and starts to work on your shirt.

"O-Ow, Reborn! That hurts!" You knew you were pulling too hard; if this persisted, you believe your shirt was doomed to be thrown away.

"Deal with it,"

"Me...Meanie," You don't want to argue. Not with a kid. So you smack his head. "O-Oww!" He stays silent and you continue trying to get his hair out. You don't understand why or how this was such a complicated task. Maybe it was because you were rushing... "Hu...Hurry up."

"Hm, at this rate, we'll have to cut your hair," And you'll probably hate to cut away such soft hair as much as he would.

"N...No, we don't!" He suddenly turns around with difficulty, causing his head to bend down as he try to keep your button at ease from pulling his hair out. You can't help but think, _'Heh, he looks much shorter...'_ From a different angle on top, it would've probably looked very suggestive...

"It's not like this is going anywhere,"

"We... We can unbutton your sh-shirt... and then... I'll separate it," Apparently, he didn't quite trust you with his hair. Heh, well, you don't quite trust yourself either. "Th...This way, you won't have to cut your shirt... or my... my hair..."

"Oh?" You're tempted to cross your arms, but you don't want to hit him in the eye. He might start bawling. How embarrassing it would be to be bombared with questions by two women as to what he was doing in the same bathroom with an adolescent... "I don't think I feel safe having my shirt unbuttoned in front of a teenager with raging hormones who was just fantasizing about me earlier." Oh, did you just say that out loud. You smirk. Oops. From your position, you could see he was blushing, but he wasn't angry or anything. It just look like he was in complete defeat. _'Aww, that's no fun...'_

"U...U...Um..."

"Undress me,"

"Mmph! O-Okay," You think he got redder; maybe you shouldn't have been too direct. But with lightning fast speed, he loosed your tie and quickly unbuttoned all your buttons from the bottom up. "Th...The top...."

"Aren't you going to do it?"

"I...I...can't reach it..." It would require him to get closer to you. Was he that scared of having his face pressed up to your chest?

"Hm, probably..."

"Th...There are a lot of scars..." He says softly, his eyes glued on your chest. And you feel the softest of breath as you look off elsewhere to distract yourself. Here you thought your body embarrassed him to no end. _'Hm, something for him to fantasize about tonight,' _

"You have some scar fetish?"

"Wh-WHAT!? NO!" He quickly covered his mouth and majority of his red face. His eyes advert away to the white tiles on the floor. "...N...No..." You decide to ignore him as you remove yourself, slipping out of your shirt in a fluid motion. Taking a seat on the toilet seat, you glance at your watch. You look to him and sees the clueless boy, standing there head bent over, your shirt hanging there like some misplaced accessory. He stands straight and his face is covered entirely by your shirt. What kind of expression is he making?

"Hurry up. I need to leave. You can smell my shirt all you want later,"

"You...You know... if you're in a rush, you can just... get another shirt..."

Rolling your eyes, you stare at him from where he stood with your shirt on his head. Kids are troublesome. "I want _that_ shirt." Especially this one.

...

"Tsk," He stares up at you beneath those long bangs that framed his face perfectly.

"Is...Is something wrong?" He asks, awkwardly. "Do... you want me to leave?"

"Are you expecting a kiss for reward?" His face turns red and your figure towers over his much shorter one. "Hm?"

"N-No!" He pushes you back and awkwardly stumbles backward, hitting the door with a loud THUMP. You smirk, thinking you'll like teasing this kid. You press closer and he tries to dodge you, angling his head away from yours. "Re-Reborn, what are you-"

Your eyes glance down. His back was riding awkwardly against the doorknob. You find it quite amazing, actually. You think you've find someone much more awkward that that No-Good Tsuna. You want to laugh, but only show a smirk as Lambo tries to move away without you noticing. "I don't get you. You openly fantasize about me, yet you're so scared when I'm in range of you,"

"F-Fan..Fantasize openly!?" Oh, you think you struck a sensitive nerve. "You went into my room and _sat_ there listening!"

"It's not _my_ fault _you_ talk in your sleep," You reasoned.

"W-Well, how is it _my_ fault! _You _listened!" He fumed. "...If...If you didn't like it, you could've... just left." You watch the way his eyes casted to the side, signs of rejection all over his face. "I...didn't ask you to listen..."

You force your hands on either sides of the wall and door, causing him to jump slightly from the impact. "Stupid cow," He looks like he's about to retort with some sort of comment and you take this opportunity, pressing your lips - not too hard - against his own. And you'll probably never forget the way his eyes widen that moment, signs of surprise, dread, shock, confusion, and utter speechlessness running through them.

...

"Gah! Cheaterrr! Takeshi-niichan is a cheater!" You can hear Fuuta's objection and everyone laughing in the living room. After that "incident" in the bathroom - your eyes glance to the boy standing in front of the sink, busying himself at washingt he dishes, devoiding himself of the fun outside - he has avoided you, to say the least. Not one glance. Not one word. It didn't make it better that you realize a portion of your shirt smelled like him. And in the heated airport, the smell really got to you. You had to admit, this kid was something. Upon seeing your students and the "heartfelt" reunion of not seeing them for so long, you learned that Fuuta had came along with them. Deciding it was better to catch up at home, Mama invited everyone back to the house to eat. She had made spicy Thai Hot Pot.

While everyone busied themselves eating and chatting away, you've noticed that Lambo, specifially did not talk much. Rather, he only talked to I-pin and occasionally answering a few questions from the others. You thought this was out of character; everyone thought it was normal. But internally affairs aside, you focused your attention on your students. Upon focusing, you've noticed:

(Exhibit 1)

Sasagawa was being more fidgety around Gokudera. Sure, they argued still, but there was this... off air around them.

You figured they slept together, so you dismissed the case.

(Exhibit 2)

"Tsuna, where's Spanner?"

You see a blush. "Um... he's still in Italy, to finish some things for the base..."

"I see."

(Exhibit 3)

Tsuna wasn't the _only_ one wearing a wedding band... engagement ring or whatever it was called. Discreet, they were being very discreet - Yamamoto and Hibari, that is. And you almost felt proud of your clueless student as he put his arm casually around Hibari without getting mauled.

You sigh and gets up from where you sat on the kitchen table. You've decided to settle here when they were cleaning and began planning the tables for games. You move over to Lambo on th sink and propped yourself up on your elbow, obvious boredom across your face. "Still ignoring me?"

He shakes his head, avoiding your gaze. "I'll let you kiss me back for compensation." He looks like he's ready to explode from the way his face heats up, "We're not at a market," but you see the small smile he tries to hold back. "Kiss me."

He shakes his head. "It's... okay,"

"That's not what I said," you watch the way the bubbles formed together on his hands, a few flying away. "I told you to kiss me."

"I-I can't-" he replies in stutters as he makes eye contact with you, quickly looking away when he finds that you're leaning too close. "I...I have to finish the dishes,"

You just smirk at his innocence, shrugging as he stares at you with large eyes. The way he was biting his lip reminded you of a child afraid he would be denied something. "I see. Come to the living room when you are done." And you make your way out.

"Re-Reb-Reborn!" He catches your hand as you're leaving and you turn in question, shock appearing on your face only after his wet lips were removed from yours. And his cheeks filled with obvious embarrassment. "Um... I..." Your hand move to his backside and you pull him to you, his body falling on yours when he loses his balance on his toes. His hands pressed at your chest, he stares back at you with an almost bewildered look.

"This is a proper kiss... stupid cow,"

And you can't help but think: 15...15 isn't _that_ young, right?

...

**A/N: **Is it?


End file.
